Category Archives: Real Estate

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) is looking to rezone a portion of Far Rockaway, as part of Mayor de Blasio’s $91 million commitment to revitalize the downtown business district.

To try and ease overcrowded schools in Jackson Heights, the School Construction Authority is proposing a new elementary school at 69-01 34th Ave., the former site of White Castle’s regional headquarters.

Representatives with the SCA met with members of Community Board 3 on May 21, to propose the acquisition and demolition of the existing property in order to make way for a 450 seat elementary school.

As part of their ongoing effort to help return Hurricane Sandy victims to safe and sustainable homes, the Friends of Rockaway, a community-based non-profit organization, will host a fundraiser on Sunday, Oct. 30. The Dine Out for Hurricane Sandy recovery will feature seven local eateries which have agreed to donate a portion of the money raised to help Sandy victims.

After three failed attempts to redevelop the historic RKO Keith’s Theatre in Flushing, plans have surfaced once again, which look to convert the dilapidated venue into luxury condominiums, while preserving the landmarked ticket booth and front lobby.

This week, members of Community Board 7 held a public hearing to discuss proposed modifications to plans approved by the Board of Standards and Appeals in 2005. The plan would construct a 17-story mixed-use structure with 357 rental apartment units and retail space at 135-35 Northern Blvd.
“After 10 years working on this project… I think we’re finally close to starting on construction,” the applicant’s attorney Howard Goldman, said.

The DOT created a temporary walkway along Union Street, between 37th and 39th avenues, to make it safer for pedestrian travel. Photo by Daniel Offner.

Traffic issues around the Flushing Commons construction site have yet to cease, despite an amended stipulation with the Dept. of Transportation, made last December, requiring the placement of traffic control agents around the site during the duration of the construction.

However, according to State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside), developers with TDC Development, the Rockefeller Group Development Corporation and AECOM Capital hired a couple of flagmen to direct traffic, instead of complying with the agreement.

Construction of the long-awaited TDI-Bartone property—a $59 million development project, located next to the Farmingdale train station, at 120 Secatogue Avenue—is imminent, according to village officials.

“We plan to start within the next two weeks,” said Farmingdale Mayor Ralph Ekstrand.

Although Farmingdale officials say they have not yet received a final plan, as of press time, they anticipate the developer will have all the necessary permits to begin demolition of the existing property within the next 30 days.

Once finished with the demolition, plans for the construction of two similar, mixed-use apartment buildings, can begin. Both structures will include retail and residential components, allowing for businesses to occupy the ground floor and luxury apartments for residents above. In total the entire project will encompass the construction of 154 apartment units and approximately 19,400 square-feet of retail space.

Sources indicate the Town of Harrison has plans in motion to strike a development deal with the AvalonBay Communities concerning the long-awaited Transit Oriented Development project with the Metropolitan Transit Authority.

It has been more than two years since Harrison received bids for construction of the project, but town officials have been mum ever since. Any motion will be the first in just over a year since residents expressed skepticism that the proposed Town Center would ever see the light of day.

However, recently sources with knowledge of the ongoing negotiations between the town, MTA and Avalon, have informed The Harrison Report that AvalonBay Communities will in fact be the developer of the long-awaited project once discussions are finalized.

This story originally appeared in the May 24, 2013 edition of the Harrison Review

An area of the town once viewed as a thriving business locale may be transformed into a development of condo-style homes, retail stores and eateries–Harrison’s own, small version of Yonkers’ Ridge Hill.

In its heyday in the 1980s, Harrison’s “Platinum Mile” was a stretch of office parks along Westchester Avenue, where major businesses set up shop after a decades long exodus from the increasingly business-unfriendly New York City.

The town welcomed multinational corporations with open arms, seeing the office parks as a way to balance budgets through revenues generated from corporate rather than personal property taxes. At its height, taxes collected from companies there represented 60 percent of Harrison’s entire tax income.